(Hopefully) first build, advice needed please

Scar Tissue

Hiya, laptop finally gave up today after 4 years, chronic overheating for ages and now it won't charge at all. Hoping to get a good PC for €800 for basic enough stuff, word processing, multimedia and games (likes of Skyrim, DayZ, BF if possible... and recording them if it's not too intensive)..


1. What is your budget? €800 (MAX!, student here )

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Gaming (BF, DayZ, Skyrim, word processing for college, media playback.

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? No

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? No. I have 2x 1tb external hdd (1x 2.5", 1x 3.5") so would be looking at a 128gb ssd maybe?

5. Do you need a monitor? No, I have this TV

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? 1366 x 768, No.

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? Mouse, keyboard and wireless card I guess

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? ...I'm not sure?

8. How can you pay? Credit card/laser

9. When are you purchasing? No real rush, within a few weeks I guess

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? Shouldn't need help.


Not asking for much really :pac:

Thanks for any help!

Scar Tissue

Talking to a friend and he suggested this,



Any feedback or advice?

(forgot to mention in OP, ideally I'd like to have shipping + build costs included in the €800 limit if possible)

Headshot

That I wish you saw
Sarcastic Mr know it all

Scar Tissue

Close your eyes and I'll kiss you cause
With the birds I share

You should try for Xfactor HS

Monotype

What graphics card is that? You might need a better one. Is it a 6870? Not bad but if it's gaming centred, maybe spend a bit more on it.
GTX 660 and GTX 650 coming in a fortnight so it could be something to look at.

You might as well get a Z77 board since they're about the same price.

You should get a PSU that's of certain good quality.

Sony have left the DVD-drive market so go with someone else if it's the same price.

hardwareversand.de is a good place for full PC orders but they only take bank transfers at the moment (credit cards coming soon, but AFAIK, still in the works).

uncle_sam_ie

The Antec 300 is old there are better alternatives now. http://www2.hardwareversand.de/Midi/48895/BitFenix+Shinobi+Midi-Tower+USB+3.0+++black%2C+ohne+Netzteil.article
And like Monotype said, use hardwareversand.de. I just bought a complete build from them last week for the first time.
They are a bit slow with their e-mails but other then that I was very happy with the service. I Put my order in on wednesday. Then went to my bank to set up the transfer(took only 5 mins). Received the the goods two days ago. It came UPS. I tracked it all the way from Germany. The only thing to watch out for is if one of the items is out of stock. You could be waiting a week or two for them to ship the goods.

Scar Tissue

Thanks for the replies, could I be cheeky in asking one of ye to suggest a complete build? I wouldn't know where to start to be honest..

Monotype

Item|Price
ASUS DRW-24B5ST bare|€18.57
8GB-Kit G-Skill RipJaws PC3-12800U CL9|€41.86
BitFenix Merc Beta|€32.03
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€43.39
Intel Core i5-3570K Box, LGA1155|€216.29
ASRock Z77 Pro4-M, Sockel 1155, mATX|€87.12
Club 3D Radeon HD 7850 Coolstream Edition, 2GB GDDR5|€198.44
WD Caviar Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€75.59
Scythe Mugen 3, für alle Sockel geeignet|€36.20
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€768.48

That board has no PCI slots, so if you want those, you can go for the regular Pro 3. Heatsink isn't absolutely necessary but it's good for quietness and overclocking. Tricky enough to install though.
You can spend the extra funds on a nicer case, if you like.

Edit: Or skip the hard drive and get an SSD as you suggested in the original post.

Scar Tissue

Thanks for the reply mono (you almost had it on the nose €800 earlier :pac:)

Am I right in thinking no PCI slots means no wireless card etc? (fairly tech novice by this forum's standards)... college house has no LAN to my room so would need wireless capabilites. Sick to death of this laptops almost jet like fans so will go with the heatsink, cheers.

Have more than enough storage for now, so think I will go with SSD for performance sake.

Gotta pester the parents tomorrow..

Monotype

Scar Tissue wrote: »

Thanks for the reply mono (you almost had it on the nose €800 earlier :pac:)

That was only 30 seconds before I realised I had two cases in there.

Am I right in thinking no PCI slots means no wireless card etc? (fairly tech novice by this forum's standards)... college house has no LAN to my room so would need wireless capabilites. Sick to death of this laptops almost jet like fans so will go with the heatsink, cheers.

You can get PCI-E wireless cards. PCI is just being phased out.
The Pro 3 has PCI slots, but I just went for the Pro4 since it has a few extra connectors like eSATA and optical sound SP/DIF connector.
http://www1.hardwareversand.de/DDR3/59322/ASRock+Z77+Pro3%2C+Sockel+1155%2C+ATX.article

Go for Samsung 830 or Crucial M4 for SSDs.

Scar Tissue

Item|Price
ASUS DRW-24B5ST bare|€18.57
8GB-Kit G-Skill RipJaws PC3-12800U CL9|€41.86
BitFenix Merc Beta|€32.03
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€43.39
Intel Core i5-3570K Box, LGA1155|€216.29
ASRock Z77 Pro4-M, Sockel 1155, mATX|€87.12
Club 3D Radeon HD 7850 Coolstream Edition, 2GB GDDR5|€198.44
Crucial M4 128GB SSD| €99.74
Scythe Mugen 3, für alle Sockel geeignet|€36.20
Shipping|€18.99
PC Build|€20.00
Total|€812.63

Added the Crucial M4 128GB SSD and went for the option of them to build it, is there anything else to chop and change, besides finding a wireless card online and picking up a mouse/keyboard in a B+M shop...?

Monotype

That's quite bad that they don't have a properly wired place.

There's wireless adapters at hardwareversand:
http://www1.hardwareversand.de/PCI-Express/30773/TP-Link+TL-WN781N%2C+150Mbps%2C+PCIe+x1.article
http://www1.hardwareversand.de/PCI-Express/48078/ASUS+PCE-N10.article

You can get a mouse from there too. They have quite a big selection. Don't get a keyboard though as it's German layout.

Scar Tissue

It's a student house, so unless I wanna do my fapping gaming and college work in the sitting room, wireless will have to do :pac:

Think I'm almost all set, thanks for all your help Mono, legend!

Eboggles

Scar Tissue wrote: »

It's a student house, so unless I wanna do my fapping gaming and college work in the sitting room, wireless will have to do :pac:

Think I'm almost all set, thanks for all your help Mono, legend!

Homeplugs?

Scar Tissue

Eboggles wrote: »

Homeplugs?

Would it really be worth the hassle (and more importantly) money? Don't think I download/game enough to warrant just having wired over wireless .. unless ye suggest differently?

Eboggles

Scar Tissue wrote: »

Would it really be worth the hassle (and more importantly) money? Don't think I download/game enough to warrant just having wired over wireless .. unless ye suggest differently?

It's a much better experience than wireless internet; basically the same quality as Ethernet straight from the router, same speed and much less ping than a wireless adapter.

Scar Tissue

Eboggles wrote: »

It's a much better experience than wireless internet; basically the same quality as Ethernet straight from the router, same speed and much less ping than a wireless adapter.

Think I'll give them a miss for now, until I get some money .. the cost already is pushing it big time :pac:

If that's everything, I think I'll order in the next few days, thanks for the input guys!

Scar Tissue

Item|Price
ASUS DRW-24B5ST bare|€18.57
8GB-Kit G-Skill RipJaws PC3-12800U CL9|€41.86
BitFenix Merc Beta|€32.03
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€43.39
Intel Core i5-3570K Box, LGA1155|€216.29
ASRock Z77 Pro4-M, Sockel 1155, mATX|€87.12
Club 3D Radeon HD 7850 Coolstream Edition, 2GB GDDR5|€198.44
Crucial M4 128GB SSD| €99.74
Scythe Mugen 3, für alle Sockel geeignet|€36.20
Shipping|€18.99
PC Build|€20.00
TP-Link|€9.38
Revoltec cordless mouse|€12.89
Total|€834.90

Quick check before I order this tomorrow that everything is compatible, will fit and nothing is left out etc..

(Does anyone know about claiming back VAT/getting a VAT receipt from HWVS..? Saw some threads but they're old enough)

Thanks!

Monotype

I'm not fond of cordless mice but that's about it.

The thermalright macho is back in stock - I thought it had been discontinued. One of the best air coolers around but harder to install.
http://www1.hardwareversand.de/Intel+AMD/52671/Thermalright+HR-02+Macho.article
I presume it would fit in this case, but you/I should check reviews if you want to get it.

Skylinehead put a VAT free order in recently, iirc, still hangs around here a bit and might be able to help you out.

Scar Tissue

Monotype wrote: »

I'm not fond of cordless mice but that's about it.

The thermalright macho is back in stock - I thought it had been discontinued. One of the best air coolers around but harder to install.
http://www1.hardwareversand.de/Intel+AMD/52671/Thermalright+HR-02+Macho.article
I presume it would fit in this case, but you/I should check reviews if you want to get it.

Skylinehead put a VAT free order in recently, iirc, still hangs around here a bit and might be able to help you out.

Thanks very much once again for the reply Mono

I'd prefer not using a cordless one, but using TV as monitor means not being able to fit it on my tiny desk so will use it from bed :pac:

Will be paying them the €20 to build it (don't trust myself), so presuming it fits (?) they shouldn't have a problem hopefully..

Will throw him a PM now, there seems to be some conflicting info on threads here.

Scar Tissue wrote: »

Item|Price
ASUS DRW-24B5ST bare|€18.57
8GB-Kit G-Skill RipJaws PC3-12800U CL9|€41.86
BitFenix Merc Beta|€32.03
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€43.39
Intel Core i5-3570K Box, LGA1155|€216.29
ASRock Z77 Pro4-M, Sockel 1155, mATX|€87.12
Club 3D Radeon HD 7850 Coolstream Edition, 2GB GDDR5|€198.44
Crucial M4 128GB SSD| €99.74
Macho Processer cooler|€36.29
Shipping|€18.99
PC Build|€20.00
TP-Link|€9.38
Revoltec cordless mouse|€12.89
Total|€834.99Quick check before I order this tomorrow that everything is compatible, will fit and nothing is left out etc..

Bingo481

Best of luck exciting time with a new PC....now to take over the WORLDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!

Scar Tissue

Threw in an extra Seagate 1TB 3.5" HDD, just waiting for word on VAT back before I pay.

Thanks again for all the help guys

Scar Tissue

Scar Tissue wrote: »

Threw in an extra Seagate 1TB 3.5" HDD, just waiting for word on VAT back before I pay.

Thanks again for all the help guys

Scar Tissue

Dispatched!

For anyone wondering about paying VAT-exclusive, order as normal but before paying email information@hardwareversand.de quoting your VAT registration number, name, address and customer number/order number, took me a week to hear back with the new price. Pay as normal (using the order details they first email you)

Scar Tissue

PC came today (:)) finally. Few things, I never thought to get a 2to3 pin adaptor >_< there was also some parts in a box separately.

The processor heatsink wasn't installed because apparently it might cause damage in transit, is it easy to install? Any links to youtube videos to help?






there was also these parts in it, any idea what they're for?

This mentions protecting the CPU pins..


this says "Cross FIRE" on the back, any idea what it's for and why it hasn't been installed?




Sorry for the big images, imageshack is on the blink.

Eboggles

Its a right b1tch to install... I think Tea_Bag has installed one and a few other members have, just can't remember who now.

As for the Crossfire connector, that's for connecting two graphics cards together to run in a dual-GPU configuration. You don't have to worry about that.

Monotype

For difficult heatsinks, it's a good idea getting another person's help to keep it steady. It's not the easiest, but it is effective.
The power plug is the same as you get in most PCs, you can just use an old one.

Scar Tissue

Thank you

Complete newb at all this, do I need thermal paste or whatever for this heatsink?

If the worst come to it, HWVS said they left a "default" heatsink in, so I can use the PC until I get someone knowledgeable to install it.

Monotype

Wasn't there thermal paste in the box with the heatsink?
The default heatsink if fine for getting things done, mild overclocking but not the quietest.

Scar Tissue

Monotype wrote: »

Wasn't there thermal paste in the box with the heatsink?
The default heatsink if fine for getting things done, mild overclocking but not the quietest.

Nah, only what was shown in the picture above

sorry about all this, was hoping to avoid the confusion by getting them to build it

Monotype

If you don't like the idea of putting on the heatsink, you can always see how it goes with the regular one. You could probably sell the other one on as it's good quality.